How to Find the Best Hashtags in 2024 [Template Included]

Are you looking to get the most out of your Social Media Marketing efforts and improve your Inbound Marketing Strategy?

Then you should pay attention to the Hashtags you’re using and you should conduct a Hashtag research for every Social Media Channel you’re using.

In this article, we’ll be going into the importance of hashtags, how to find the best one per social channel and we’ll provide you a template.

Let’s get started!

The importance of Hashtags

Keywords and Hashtags help Social Media Platforms to understand what your post is about and who should see your post.

If you add no hashtags at all, you’ll be missing out on exposure.
If you add irrelevant hashtags, you’ll miss out on engagement.
If you add too competitive hashtags, your post will often drown.
If you add the right mix of hashtags to every post, you’ll get the best bang for your buck.

The importance of the right Hashtag mix

Adding hashtags that are relevant is thus important.

The ‘Mix’ is the right combination of popular vs less popular hashtags.

You can find both for every niche.

The reason you should mix it up is to make sure your post will be shown with the lower competition hashtags and that if you’re lucky and get enough engagement, you’ll also be shown for the more popular hashtags.

Your mix is personal.

If you have a low following and are in a highly competitive niche, your mix will contain mostly less competitive hashtags.

If you already have a large audience that engages with your posts, your mix will contain more competitive hashtags with a higher potential to reach a large audience.

Doing a hashtag research

So how do you know which hashtags fall in which bucket?

A hashtag research helps you to find out just that and to document them for later use.

You can access our hashtag research template here for free (no signup needed).

It lives within our Growth Storytelling Framework where the keyword research template, content distribution strategy and other tactical and strategic documents sit.

The hashtag research template looks a little bit like the image below:

On the left, you see relevant hashtags and on the right, you see your main Social Media channels.

Now you can do your hashtag research and find out how popular hashtags are on each platform.

As you can see, if differs a lot.

That is why it is so important to do your research. Invest a couple of minutes before posting your content and eventually, you’ll have a complete list of relevant hashtags per channel. Social Media channels showcase the popularity of the hashtags differently. Some name it ‘number of times seen (TikTok) others, showcase # followers (LinkedIn), and Instagram shows how many posts exist with that hashtag. It’s fair to say that they all indicate how competitive hashtags are.

Now let’s go over how you can find the best hashtags.

Find the best hashtags (per social media channel)

Just like social media channels naming the popularity of hashtags differently, you’ll also need different approaches to find which are the best hashtags per channel.

One pro tip I want to give straight off the bat is: Click on the relevant hashtag and see if it’s actually relevant.

Let’s get into it.

How to find the best hashtags on TikTok

Let’s start with one of the easiest social media platform to find the data you need.

To find out what the best hashtags are on TikTok for your business, you simply need to go to search -> enter your hashtag -> write down the number of ‘times seen’ on your hashtag research template -> scroll down -> find other relevant hashtags -> write them down and repeat.

Now, remember.

Having the date on your template is just the start. When posting, you need to create a mix of relevant hashtags and include ‘easy’ and more competitive hashtags to get the best results.

How to find the best hashtags on Instagram

Now for finding the best hashtags on Instagram, you would need to put in a little more effort.

You can still simply search for the hashtag and see how many posts have that hashtag to see how popular a hashtag is, but Instagram does not show you related hashtags in the same view as TikTok. So it’s a bit more of a manual exercise.

But the same applies. After you’ve done you found all relevant hashtags and have noted them down in your research sheet, you create a mix of hashtags for your next post.

How to find the best hashtags for Twitter

To find the best hashtags for Twitter, you need to use a tool.

Twitter does not showcase the popularity of a hashtag easily. For some hashtags they showcase how many have used it in a Tweet in the last hour, but that can differ a lot.

We advise using RiteTag. Simply create an account and get the data you need for your research.

Simply write down the number under ‘hashtag exposure per hour’ (eye icon) in your sheet and build your list for the next time you’re going to send out an awesome Tweet.

How to find the best hashtags on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the last platform that we’re going to discuss but it does not mean that you should stop here. If Pinterest or Tumblr or whichever social media channel is important to you, you should definitely do your research for those too.

Add hashtags that matter most to your LinkedIn Marketing Strategy and reach the right people in your extended audience.

To find the best hashtags on LinkedIn you basically need to click the first hashtag you encounter and you will be brought to a new page where you will see this on top:

From here, change the url to fit the hashtag you want to get data on.

For example. ‘contentstrategy’ should be changed to your new keyword and then press enter.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/?keywords=contentstrategy -> https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/?keywords=contentcreation

It’s a bit of work but it’s pretty straightforward and well worth your time.

If you want to check out how powerful it is to do your hashtag research, check out some popular LinkedIn company pages and click on some random hashtags. You’ll often see a post that has for instance one hashtag that has 1,000,000 followers and two hashtags that has no followers or 6 or so. That’s not a great mix!

Get the most out of your hashtag research

That’s all there is to it. It’s not difficult to do your research you just need to be willing to put in the work a couple of times.

Be sure to access the template here for free. It has all kind of other cool resources included.

To make the most out of it, you really need to make it your own with your own social media channels and you need to experiment and learn. Try different hashtags and different mixes and see what works best for you.

All the best!

FAQ

What is the role of hashtags in social media marketing?
Hashtags play a crucial role in categorizing content, increasing discoverability, and helping social media users find and engage with topics of interest, thereby amplifying the reach of marketing messages.

How do hashtags improve content visibility on social media?
When users search or click on a hashtag, they are shown all posts tagged with it. This increases the visibility of these posts beyond just the immediate followers of the account.

What are the best practices for using hashtags in social media marketing?
Best practices include using relevant and specific hashtags, limiting the number of hashtags per post, and using a mix of popular and niche hashtags to maximize reach and engagement.

Can hashtags help in targeting specific audiences?
Yes, using specific and relevant hashtags can help target content to specific audiences who are likely interested in those topics, increasing engagement from a relevant user base.

How can businesses track the effectiveness of hashtags in marketing campaigns?
Businesses can track hashtag effectiveness through engagement metrics like likes, shares, and comments, and by using social media analytics tools to track hashtag performance.

What is the importance of creating branded hashtags?
Branded hashtags can enhance brand identity, encourage user-generated content, and make it easier to track and analyze conversations about the brand on social media.

How do hashtags differ in their effectiveness across social media platforms?
Hashtag effectiveness can vary by platform due to different user behaviors and platform algorithms. For example, they are a key discovery tool on Instagram but less so on Facebook.

Should hashtags be used differently for different types of content?
Yes, the choice of hashtags should align with the content’s nature, whether it’s promotional, informational, or conversational, to reach the most appropriate audience.

Can using too many hashtags be detrimental in social media marketing?
Overusing hashtags can appear spammy and may reduce engagement. It’s important to use them judiciously to maintain professionalism and relevance.

What are the trends in hashtag usage in social media marketing?
Current trends include using fewer but more targeted hashtags, focusing on branded hashtags, and incorporating trending or topical hashtags relevant to the content.

How do hashtags facilitate community building in social media marketing?
Hashtags connect users around specific themes or interests, creating a sense of community and fostering engagement among individuals who share common interests or brand affiliations.

What’s the impact of localized hashtags in social media marketing?
Localized hashtags target specific geographical locations, making them effective for businesses looking to engage with local communities or promote location-based events.

How important is hashtag research in social media marketing?
Conducting research to find relevant and popular hashtags is crucial as it ensures the content reaches the intended audience and maximizes engagement.

Can hashtags be effectively used in paid social media advertising?
Yes, incorporating hashtags in paid ads can extend the reach of the ad beyond its targeted audience, tapping into users following or searching for those hashtags.

How do event-specific hashtags contribute to social media marketing?
Event-specific hashtags promote events, encourage participation and real-time engagement, and help aggregate content and conversations related to the event.

What is a hashtag campaign, and how is it used in marketing?
A hashtag campaign involves creating a unique hashtag for a specific marketing campaign, encouraging users to share content or participate in conversations using that hashtag.

How does hashtag tracking benefit social media marketing strategies?
Hashtag tracking monitors the performance and reach of specific hashtags, providing insights that help in refining marketing strategies and understanding audience interests.

What are the risks of using irrelevant or overused hashtags?
Using irrelevant or overused hashtags can lead to reduced engagement, diminished brand credibility, and the content being lost in a sea of unrelated posts.

Can a mix of broad and niche hashtags be effective in marketing?
Combining broad and niche hashtags can balance reaching a larger audience while also targeting specific groups interested in more specialized content.

What role do trending hashtags play in social media marketing?
Jumping on trending hashtags can increase visibility and engagement, but it’s important to ensure the content is relevant to the hashtag to avoid appearing opportunistic.

Author bio:

Raul Tiru: Raul loves to build companies and help startups and scale-ups grow. Raul started his first website when he was 17 years old, has held several growth marketing positions in fast-growing companies, and has helped companies via his Freelance Marketing services. You can find Raul on his community GlobalOwls where he helps Nonprofits and Startups to do better marketing.

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